Design

Best Unique Signs of 2010

A gallery of winners from the International Sign Contest’s Unique Signs category

Published

14 years ago

March 25, 2010

Steve Aust Signs of the Times April 2010 Issue

FIRST PLACE

Fabricator
Murphy Catton Inc.
Walton, KY
(859) 485-6761
www.murphycatton.com

Designer
RhodesWorks Ltd.
Champaign, IL
(217) 398-4512
www.rhodesworksltd.com

Client
City of Evansville, IN

Evansville, IN’s city fathers selected Murphy Catton to posthumously honor Shirley James, who championed local environmental and conservation-related causes from her arrival in Evansville in 1975 until her death in 2007. The Shirley James Gateway Plaza’s interpretive graphics depict Evansville’s transportation history through six, 25 x 6-ft. panels amidst the park’s bike trails – fitting, given her longtime advocacy for a city-wide bike path. Because of the panels’ top-heavy design and irregular shape, Murphy Catton sank eight anchor bolts per statue into the ground and welded them to a ½-in.-thick base covered with 10 in. of concrete to ensure they wouldn’t bow and succumb to gravity. The shop built the entire sculpture from 304-grade stainless steel to withstand harsh weather conditions.

SECOND PLACE

Fabricator
YESCO
Las Vegas
(702) 876-8080
www.yesco.com

Designers
Adolfo R. Gonzalez
YESCO/Diversified
Expressions

Clients
Nevada Dept. of Law
Enforcement
City of Las Vegas
Las Vegas Arts
Commission

In Las Vegas, everything must be oversized to make a splash. YESCO complied with the fabrication of this 26 x 15-ft. tribute to Nevada’s police officers killed in the line of duty. YESCO built the base’s metal frame with a black-slate overlay with blue-LED strips that YESCO produced in house. The towers incorporate seamless, metal frames with brushed-aluminum overlays. The torches comprise aluminum with a proprietary paint designed to simulate rust, with inset, uplighting lamps that create flame-like illumination, with a red LED neon strip for additional pop. Gonzalez and YESCO co-workers collaborated on devising the eagle, which features an inner steel frame, an aluminum skin, painted features and a clearcoat. The shield comprises routed steel coated with automotive-grade paint, and the American flag incorporates welded-steel bands painted with a faux-rust coating.

THIRD PLACE

Fabricator
Snyder Signs
Johnson City, TN
(423) 282-6221
www.snydersigns.com

Designers
Ted Tubbs
Snyder Signs

Thompson & Litton Architects
Bristol, TN
(423) 989-9491
www.t-l.com

Client
Bristol (TN/VA) Chamber of Commerce

Given the region’s proud distinction as “The Birthplace of Country Music,” the Chamber of Commerce that serves the adjoining cities of Bristol, VA and TN fittingly chose a mammoth, 22-ft.-tall, guitar-shaped monument to celebrate the organization’s centennial anniversary. The shop assembled the body using 0.125-in. roll-formed aluminum cut to shape with a Techno LC CNC router. The fretboard comprises ¼-in.-thick, aluminum plate cut to shape with a Universal Laser cutter. For the guitar’s strings, the shop selected aircraft cable, which makes a melodic sound when “strummed,” Snyder operations manager Randy Holland said.

HONORABLE MENTION

Fabricator
Stoner Graphix
Hummelstown, PA
(717) 469-7716
www.stonergraphix.com

Designer
Stoner Graphix

Client
The Hershey Co.

click to Comment(Comment)

Up Next

You Asked for It?

Don't Miss

Best Electronic Message Centers of 2010

Introducing the Sign Industry Podcast

The Sign Industry Podcast is a platform for every sign person out there — from the old-timers who bent neon and hand-lettered boats to those venturing into new technologies — we want to get their stories out for everyone to hear. Come join us and listen to stories, learn tricks or techniques, and get insights of what’s to come. We are the world’s second oldest profession. The folks who started the world’s oldest profession needed a sign.